I do occasionally eat or drink while using my laptop. I feel that it is safe as long as I am not trying to balance the laptop and food/drink on my lap while I am watching television. If I am enjoying a cup of tea or iced coffee while I am surfing the Internet, it is with my laptop placed securely on a desk or table.

Could I spill my beverage onto the keyboard of my Acer? Sure, it could happen. However, if I want to drink a Diet Pepsi while I read celebrity gossip on TMZ, then I am agreeing to assume that risk. Maybe I will feel different about it once I short-circuit my computer. Until then, I will happily watch YouTube videos while eating a bowl of cereal. It’s just the way of the world.

I don’t have a lap top any more. Our house got to cold and we had it safely under our bed and the screen cracked. But I do eat and drink at my desktop, which is just as dangerous. When liquid drips on the keyboard, it’s ruined. We take the side panel off to let the unit cool down since we have limited cooling in our home and well, stuff gets dusty and when stuff spills it is the dribble down theory!
When I did have a lap top I didn’t really eat or drink any more, since we would prop it up on the bed, and any spill on linen is a pain, especially if seeps through.
I have to say we were more careful with it than our desk unit, until I the screen froze, literally. He only time we ate with it, was when we would go to Atlanta Bread company restaurant, it was our hang out, and each one would take turns eating and then passing it to the person who wasn’t eating.
So we were more careful about it.
ACER was our laptop.

I don't have a laptop, but if I did I don't think I would want to take the risk of an accident by spilling something on it.

I remember when I last worked in an office and managed to spill a cup of hot tea all over my keyboard, needless to say, it died. That taught me a lesson and I don't put anything near enough to my key board to spill even if one of the cats jumps up to "help"!

Liquids and electrical items just do not mix and to replace a laptop would be very annoying and expensive, unless you had very good insurance cover.

The only time I managed to save a situation which was similar, was years ago, when I had a cell phone in a clear plastic case and managed to drop in a bucket of water! I grabbed it quickly, opened it, dried it out carefully and amazingly it worked, I don't think I'll risk anything happening to it if I get a laptop.

How ironic - the computer in your picture is an IBM ThinkPad. I had a ThinkPad both at work (by IBM) and now at home (by Lenovo). The ThinkPad is actually the one computer you DONT have to worry about spilling things in - see the drips under neath in the image? That's to demonstrate the keyboard drains in the ThinkPad. The keyboard is completely sealed and has drains out the bottom to drain out any fluid. The keys are 100% removable and can be washed. I actually spilled a huge (20oz) glass of water directly into my ThinkPad, just like that, at work, and though me and coworker had a mild panic attack, the worst thing that happened was that my paper notes got wet. I've yet to spill fluid in my personal ThinkPad, but someone in my class has spilled both coffee and cola in their thinkpad WHILE AT SCHOOL (and likely many times more). They washed it out WITH WATER and it worked like a charm.

Just funny based on the topic that you'd pick a picture of a ThinkPad.

Anyways - because I have a ThinkPad, I have no problem eating or drinking around my laptop. No big deal. If it gets wet - eh. I try to avoid it, or course, but it wouldn't damage the laptop. If i got some food on it I'd just wipe it off or pop the keys out and wash it.

My keyboard at my parents (with their computer) was gross - my dad ate chips, cookies, anything around and over it. I shook it out at least once a week but it was never sufficient - there was sticky stuff and chips in it everywhere. After 3 years they decided it was too gross, and I got them a new one for Christmas just this year - a fancy, expensive wireless keyboard so they could move it aside if wanted. I came home 3 months later to find it in the same state. People touch it with grease and caramel and chocolate on their hands, and I'm pretty sure they'll be getting another one for Xmas this year. Shame, really. I at least make sure my hands are clean. And it's odd, because they're very perfectionist about their things otherwise (don't turn up the TV too loud, you might blow the subs!)

I ate over my old laptop (an LG without keyboard drain) as well. Never DIRECTLY over it, but it would be a couple feet away. Didn't bother me. I wouldn't be surprised if more companies are, or will be soon, getting waterproof keyboards just for this reason.

Most everyone I know eats over their laptop. Some people opt for keyboard drain models, others for waterproof covers. Clearly I try to avoid spilling in or on mine, but because of it's model, there is no problem if I did, so there is not much to worry about!

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/05/lenovoboard.jpg

Ha, well I am happy to announce that I am now on laptop number three since I obtained my first laptop 4 years ago. Our first laptop was a free computer, since my husband received it after registering for college classes through the military. It was a basic computer and served its purpose: It got us both through school and allowed us to complete all our school work and written assignments on it. Then, shortly after we both graduated, I was playing an online lottery to kill time and left my laptop standing on our dining room table while I went to the kitchen to help my husband serve dinner. Our then-four-year-old poured himself a cup of lemonade in the meantime and brought it over to the table. I was bringing him his plate of food, when he scooted the cup out of the way and spilled its entire contents over the table with such as splash that half of it must have went right into the side of my laptop. Needless to say, not even five minutes later, as we tried to restart our computer, it simply shut down on us and never turned on again. Long story short, we had to reinvest in a new computer, another laptop that we have to this day. Unfortunately, since this laptop had recently caught the same virus twice, I finally went out and did what I have considered for some time now, but was not courageous enough to follow through on: Spend more money on yet another laptop. Up until recently I have to confess that I did eat and drink right next to my laptop while working. However, now, after having spent a pretty penny on my brand new laptop, I strictly enforce a no-eating, no-drinking policy near the computer. I am way too scared of having something spill and ruin this awesome new device.

I never eat near the computer as I do not have it in the kitchen. Sometimes I might have a drink near it but I keep the drink on a side table and turn to drink away from the laptop. I pay for the fix no matter what service but I do not want the downtime. So I guess it's not the best idea because one day it will happen.

Okay, I eat and drink around my laptop, but I can't ever see myself eating cold cereal over it. That's just asking for trouble. I don't drink over it either, because I don't want to drop liquid on it. I think there's a line between eating food near a laptop computer and being negligent about how to do so. Generally, I keep my laptop in my lap and then put my drink on the floor. Whenever I take a sip, I lean over to the right so that I'm not directly over the computer. My biggest problem is eating sticky foods and then using the keyboard while doing so. I am constantly wiping the keys down with a wet towel to get the sticky stuff off. Gross, but true.

I absolutely try to avoid drinking or eating while using my net book. I am far to worried that something will spill or that I will mess up the keyboard somehow so if I am about to eat I usually set it aside until I’m done.

I figure that it’s really not worth causing damage just for the sake of trying to balance the computer and food at the same time. I’ve heard too many stories about people who have ruined their computers/laptops due to spills or dropping it trying to balance multiple tasks at the same time. While there may be a lot of creative precautions to take, the one that works best for me is just to set the computer aside until I’m done and come back to it later.

I don't really use my laptop as much as I use my desktop computer, but I don't eat around either one of them. The problem for me is beverages. Since I am at my computer for most of the day, I like to have something to drink handy for most of that time. In the mornings, I drink coffee or a fruit smoothie. In the afternoons, I usually have a protein drink. For the rest of the day, I am either drinking water or iced tea. I use an enclosed water bottle for the water and tea. The protein shakes that I drink are prepackaged and come in a spill-proof container. When I am drinking coffee, I still use a travel mug, even though I no longer commute to work. I am sometimes naturally clumsy, so this helps prevent accidents near the computer.

My seven-year-old son does use the laptop a lot of the time, and I am perhaps a little overly anal-retentive about him having food and drinks near the computer. I remind him frequently, but he often forgets. Now, it is too the point that he rolls his eyes at me if I warn him about spills when he gets on the computer. I have become like a broken record in this respect, I think. I have said it so many times, but I spent a lot of hard-earned money on that laptop, and I really don't want anything to happen to it.

HP ProBook

I have a laptop and a desktop computer, but I use my laptop most of the time for working and use the desktop for my college classes. I do drink and eat at my desk while operating my laptop. I always have a glass of tea on my desk but it is in the upper right and if I spilled it, it is far away enough from the laptop that it shouldn’t spill onto the keyboard.

I eat at my desk also, but while I’m eating, I move my laptop to the far left. While I’m eating, I browse sometimes, but really don’t do much with the laptop while I’m eating. I do understand that liquid can fry a laptop keyboard and can also kill a regular keyboard. My ex-husband has ruined a keyboard by spilling Mountain Dew on it. Yuck and sticky!! I try to be very careful. :-)